Description
Book SynopsisThe story of street food in London, from medieval city to global metropolis - and of the women, men, boys, and girls who provided the capital with this vital service.
Trade Reviewa tasty tour of how we used to eat... richly researched * Bee Wilson, The Sunday Times *
an immensely vivid portrayal of a forgotten London, and a tribute to the hard lives and admirable independence and resilience of Londoners past. * Christopher Hart, Daily Mail *
Accessible and enjoyable... makes for vibrant, engaging reading. It is a world reconstructed with real humanity and warmth For anyone interested in the economics of food or the capitals history, this is a fascinating book. * Olivia Potts, The Spectator *
Highly enjoyable, well researched and full of details, Street Food is a must read for anyone with a hunger for Londons culinary history. * CM, All About History *
engaging...a comprehensive narrative, debunking stereotypes and detailing everything from the tools of the hawkers' trade... to the famous cries of the street. * Charles Wright, OnLondon *
a lively and engrossing book, full of fascinating historical facts and illustrations. * , Shiny New Books *
Street Food: Hawkers and the History of London places street trading and markets in the context of a changing city with a diverse population that adapted frequently...it will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to learn more about London's history, its neighbourhoods and the role that markets and street food played both in the past and present. * Diane Cunningham, London Society *
Street Food traces the history of London's street traders starting from the sixteenth century and bringing things bang up to date with the impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns. It takes us through the people involved, the food, the 'cries' which evolved into terms still in use and the challenges facing traders from housing to traffic, broken pavements, and their reputation...it will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to learn more about London's history, its neighbourhoods and the role that markets and street food played both in the past and present. * Diane Cunningham, London Society *
Beautifully written and underpinned by impressive scholarship, Street Food exemplifies a new and distinctive style of history writing...This volume represents both an exemplar of what can be achieved, and a challenge to others. * Tim Hitchcock, London Journal *
An entertaining, deeply researched history of hawking * John Gallagher, London Review of Books *
Taverner excels at transporting us to the world he explores... this highly accomplished first book should be on the reading lists not only of historians of work, of food and drink and of London, but of any historian interested in processes of change and continuity in English society over the past 400 years. * Mark Hailwood, Urban History *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of illustrations Note to the reader Introduction: Hawkers and the history of London Part 1: People Fishwives and costermongers All sorts of Londoners The status of street sellers Hawkers at home Part 2: Workers Gutter merchants Aristocracy of the kerb The costermonger class Part 3: Street food Garden city Perishing commodities As regular as the weather permits Moveable feasts The metropolitan diet Part 4: Markets Liberty of the markets In defence of hawkers Friends of the poor Part 5: Retailers About the streets Keeping score Carnivals of shopping Part 6: Tools Shops on their heads Barrow wheelers The coster's companion Part 7: Traffic Broken pavements Around the clock Crossing the road Part 8: Nuisances The costermongers' charter Infamous wretches Preventing free passage Part 9: Voices Tortures of the ear The crying art Declaring the seasons The end of the cries? Epilogue: The return of street food Curating street food Hawkers past and present Notes Appendix: Identifying street sellers, 1600-1825 Index
